A conventional electromagnetically actuatable valve is described in German Patent No. 38 31 196, in which a valve needle is composed of an armature, a tubular connecting part, and a spherical valve-closure member. The armature and the valve-closure member are joined to each other via the tubular connecting part, the connecting part acting as the immediate closing-member support, to which the valve-closure member is fixedly joined by a weld. The connecting part has a plurality of flow openings, through which the fuel can exit from an interior feed-through opening and, outside the connecting part, can flow to the valve-closure member, or to a valve seat surface which cooperates with the valve-closure member. In addition, the connecting tube has a longitudinal slot running over its entire length, through which, because of its large-surface hydraulic flow cross-section, fuel can flow very rapidly from the interior feed-through opening. The greater part of the fuel to be spray-discharged already flows out of the connecting part over its entire length, while a slight residual amount does not exit from the connecting part until it arrives at the spherical surface.
German Patent Application No. 195 03 224 describes an electromagnetically actuated injector, which has a valve needle whose closing-member support, which functions as the connecting part, is made of plastic. The spherical valve-closure member and the closing-member support are fixedly joined to each other by a snap-fit connection. In the closing-member support, a plurality of transverse openings are provided through which fuel can already exit from an interior opening, upstream of the valve-closure member. Then the fuel flows outside of and along the closing-member support in the direction of a valve seat surface, flowing through the molded flow paths on the outer periphery of the closing-member support shortly before arriving at the valve seat surface.
As described in German Patent Application No. 40 08 675, it is sufficiently well known to achieve fixed connections of individual components of valve needles in an integral manner, i.e., by welds.